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Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024Causal relationships between psychopathological symptoms, personality traits, coping mechanisms, and sleep bruxism (SB) were studied in the past, giving inconsistent...
Why am I grinding and clenching? Exploration of personality traits, coping strategies, oral parafunctional behaviors, and severe sleep bruxism in a polysomnographic study.
INTRODUCTION
Causal relationships between psychopathological symptoms, personality traits, coping mechanisms, and sleep bruxism (SB) were studied in the past, giving inconsistent results mostly based on self-assessment evaluations. This polysomnography-based cross-sectional study aimed to explore the relationships between severe SB, personality traits (according to the Big Five model), and coping strategies with objective polysomnographic verification.
METHODOLOGY
The study included 66 participants divided into severe SB (SSB) (n=32) and no or mild SB (n=34) groups based on video-polysomnography performed in the sleep laboratory. Questionnaire assessment included the use of the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Mini-COPE, International Personality Item Pool Big Five Markers 20-Item version, and Oral Behavior Checklist.
RESULTS
Participants with SSB presented with fewer self-reported anxiety (p=0.008) and depressive (p=0.01) symptoms than the non- or mild-SB groups. The SSB group scored significantly higher in Big Five personal traits such as extraversion (p=0.007), emotional stability (p=0.013), and intellect (p=0.004), while regarding coping strategies, the SSB group was less likely to use negative strategies: self-distraction (p=0.036), denial (p=0.006), venting (p=0.03), behavioral disengagement (p=0.046), and self-blame (p=0.003), and turning to religion (p=0.041). The intensity of oral parafunctional behaviors was comparable in both groups (p=0.054). Emotional stability was a moderate protective factor (p=0.004), and the self-blame strategy was a strong risk factor (p<0.001) for increased oral parafunctional behavior intensity. Phasic activity negatively correlated with anxiety symptom severity (p=0.005), whereas tonic (p=0.122) and mixed (p=0.053) phenotypes did not. SB intensity was a protective factor against anxiety symptoms (p=0.016).
CONCLUSION
In terms of psychopathology, severe sleep bruxers tend to present less severe anxiety and depressive symptoms, while some of their personality traits (extraversion, emotional stability, and intellect) were more strongly pronounced. SSB is possibly related to the lesser use of the "maladaptive" coping strategies and there were no specific coping strategies preferred by SSB participants, compared to the other group. These observations require further studies, as it should be determined whether SB (especially phasic activity) might be a form of a somatization/functional disorder. Further research should focus on the psychogenic background of oral parafunctional behaviors, which occur more often in less emotionally stable personalities and in people using self-blame coping strategies.
PubMed: 38840944
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1362429 -
BMJ Open Jun 2024Synthesis of the experience of women with pain from pelvic or vaginal mesh or its removal, to identify pain-related problems and to formulate psychological aspects of...
OBJECTIVES
Synthesis of the experience of women with pain from pelvic or vaginal mesh or its removal, to identify pain-related problems and to formulate psychological aspects of pain.
DESIGN
Systematic review and thematic analysis of qualitative studies of pain from pelvic or vaginal mesh, or mesh removal, in women over 18 years, using individual interviews, focus groups, free text, or written or oral contributions to formal enquiries.
DATA SOURCES
Medline, Embase and PsycINFO, from inception to 26 April 2023.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Qualitative studies of pain and other symptoms from pelvic or vaginal mesh or its removal; adults; no language restriction.
DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS
Line-by-line coding of participant quotations and study author statements by one author to provide codes that were applied to half the studies by another author and differences resolved by discussion. Codes were grouped into subthemes and themes by both authors, then scrutinised and discussed by a focus group of mesh-injured women for omissions, emphasis and coherence. Studies were appraised using an amalgamation of the CASP and COREQ tools.
RESULTS
2292 search results produced 9 eligible studies, with 7-752 participants, a total of around 2000. Four recruited patients, four totally or partially from mesh advocacy groups, and two were national enquiries (UK and Australia). Four major themes were as follows: broken body, broken mind; distrust of doctors and the medical industry; broken life and keeping going-a changed future. Psychological content mainly concerned the loss of trust in medical care, leaving women unsupported in facing an uncertain future. Mesh-injured women strongly endorsed the findings.
CONCLUSIONS
Pain and other problems associated with pelvic mesh are profound and far-reaching for women affected. Worse, they feel subject to continued gaslighting, including denial of their mesh-related problems and dismissal of their concerns about continued mesh insertion.
PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER
CRD42022330527.
Topics: Humans; Female; Surgical Mesh; Qualitative Research; Pelvic Organ Prolapse; Pelvic Pain
PubMed: 38830733
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-085879 -
Future Science OA 2024This qualitative study refined a conceptual model of financial hardship and developed measures corresponding to model constructs. Eighteen women with breast cancer...
This qualitative study refined a conceptual model of financial hardship and developed measures corresponding to model constructs. Eighteen women with breast cancer recruited through a comprehensive cancer center completed interviews. A qualitative framework analysis was conducted of the interviews. Participants experienced varying levels of financial hardship. Protective factors included good health insurance, work accommodations and social support. Participants worried about cancer care costs and employment. Programs for alleviating financial hardship had high administrative burdens. Four preliminary financial hardship measures were developed: coping, impacts, depression and worry. Reducing administrative barriers to benefits could reduce financial hardship after cancer. More research is needed on the effects of out-of-network/formulary care and denials of coverage and to validate the measures.
PubMed: 38827796
DOI: 10.2144/fsoa-2023-0229 -
Research Square May 2024Mortgage discrimination alters the distribution of investment, opportunity, and economic advantage-key contributors of health disparities. Leveraging Home Mortgage...
Mortgage discrimination alters the distribution of investment, opportunity, and economic advantage-key contributors of health disparities. Leveraging Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, we assessed mortgage denial risk in 380 U.S. urban areas. We estimated the risks by census tract-relative to the urban-specific average-using a Bayesian spatial model with conditionally autoregressive distributions fitted with integrated nested Laplace approximation. This approach borrows information through spatial and non-spatial smoothing, resulting in stable estimates in the presence of sparse data. The method, publicly accessible, allows researchers to apply our approach, fostering deeper insights into mortgage lending discrimination and systematic neighborhood disinvestment.
PubMed: 38826384
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4419606/v1 -
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth May 2024The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the provision of maternal care. The IMAgiNE EURO study investigates the Quality of Maternal and Newborn Care during the pandemic in...
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the provision of maternal care. The IMAgiNE EURO study investigates the Quality of Maternal and Newborn Care during the pandemic in over 20 countries, including Switzerland.
AIM
This study aims to understand women's experiences of disrespect and abuse in Swiss health facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS
Data were collected via an anonymous online survey on REDCap®. Women who gave birth between March 2020 and March 2022 and answered an open-ended question in the IMAgiNE EURO questionnaire were included in the study. A qualitative thematic analysis of the women's comments was conducted using the International Confederation of Midwives' RESPECT toolkit as a framework for analysis.
FINDINGS
The data source for this study consisted of 199 comments provided by women in response to the open-ended question in the IMAgiNE EURO questionnaire. Analysis of these comments revealed clear patterns of disrespect and abuse in health facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. These patterns include non-consensual care, with disregard for women's choices and birth preferences; undignified care, characterised by disrespectful attitudes and a lack of empathy from healthcare professionals; and feelings of abandonment and neglect, including denial of companionship during childbirth and separation from newborns. Insufficient organisational and human resources in health facilities were identified as contributing factors to disrespectful care. Empathic relationships with healthcare professionals were reported to be the cornerstone of positive experiences.
DISCUSSION
Swiss healthcare facilities showed shortcomings related to disrespect and abuse in maternal care. The pandemic context may have brought new challenges that compromised certain aspects of respectful care. The COVID-19 crisis also acted as a magnifying glass, potentially revealing and exacerbating pre-existing gaps and structural weaknesses within the healthcare system, including understaffing.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings should guide advocacy efforts, urging policy makers and health facilities to allocate adequate resources to ensure respectful and high-quality maternal care during pandemics and beyond.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; Female; Switzerland; Adult; Pregnancy; Qualitative Research; Surveys and Questionnaires; Maternal Health Services; Attitude of Health Personnel; SARS-CoV-2; Professional-Patient Relations; Respect; Quality of Health Care
PubMed: 38822258
DOI: 10.1186/s12884-024-06598-6 -
Health Services Management Research May 2024The sharing of information and feedback directly from service-providing staff to healthcare organisational management is vital for organisational culture and service...
The sharing of information and feedback directly from service-providing staff to healthcare organisational management is vital for organisational culture and service improvement. However, hospital doctors report feeling unable to communicate effectively with management to provide evidence and affect improvement, and this can impact job satisfaction, workplace relations, service delivery and ultimately patient safety. In this paper, we draw on data elicited from a Mobile Instant Messaging Ethnography (MIME) study involving 28 hospital doctors working in Irish hospitals, to explore the barriers preventing them from speaking up and effecting change, and the impact of this on staff morale and services. We identify three major barriers, consistent with previous literature, to effective feedback and communication: (1) organisational deafness, (2) disconnect between managers and frontline staff, and (3) denial of the narratives and issues raised. We draw these together to identify key implications from these findings for healthcare managers, and suggest policy and practice improvements.
PubMed: 38817143
DOI: 10.1177/09514848241254929 -
Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal =... May 2024The mental health of students plays a crucial role in their learning and performance. The COVID-19 pandemic, the political turmoil and a coup in Sudan has exacerbated...
BACKGROUND
The mental health of students plays a crucial role in their learning and performance. The COVID-19 pandemic, the political turmoil and a coup in Sudan has exacerbated stress and anxiety among university students in Sudan due to uncertainty about their academic activities.
AIM
To assess post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) occurrence and coping strategies adopted by university students in Sudan.
METHODS
This cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to June 2022. It used the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief-COPE) and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) questionnaires to assess the occurrence of PTSD and coping strategies among 596 university students in Sudan. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency and percentage, Student's t test was used to compare the means of 2 groups and one-way analysis of variance to compare the means of ≥ 3 groups.
RESULTS
There was a high prevalence of PTSD among the students, with a score of 31.2 (SD 16.4). The total score of PTSD was higher among female students. Around 36% of the students had a PTSD score > 37, which is considered high enough to suppress immune function. The most widely adopted coping strategies were religion and acceptance of the situation, while substance use was the least. Students who had COVID-19 infection during the pandemic differed significantly from uninfected students in the application of coping strategies. In contrast, students whose family members or friends had COVID-19 were not significantly different from students with uninfected family members or friends in the application of the coping strategies, such as self-blame, denial, substance use, and behavioural disengagement.
CONCLUSION
We recommend the initiation and implementation of psychological counselling programmes for university students in Sudan onsite or remotely. Further research should be carried out to assess the long-term effects of the pandemic and the political conflicts so as to design and implement appropriate and efficient interventions.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; Sudan; Female; Male; Students; Cross-Sectional Studies; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Universities; Adaptation, Psychological; Young Adult; Mental Health; Politics; Adult; SARS-CoV-2; Surveys and Questionnaires; Prevalence; Adolescent; Pandemics
PubMed: 38808403
DOI: 10.26719/2024.30.4.272 -
Heliyon May 2024Effective stress management after unsuccessful cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) requires the determination of perceived stress and identification and reinforcement of...
BACKGROUND
Effective stress management after unsuccessful cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) requires the determination of perceived stress and identification and reinforcement of effective coping strategies. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine perceived stress and coping strategies after unsuccessful CPR for the first time among Iranian pre-hospital emergency technicians.
METHODS
A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational, multicenter study was conducted in 2022. The research population included all pre-hospital emergency technicians working in 44 urban, road, and aerial pre-hospital emergency stations in 22 counties of Ilam Province, west of Iran. A total of 374 technicians worked in these stations, which were included in the study by census method according to the inclusion criteria. The data collection tools were the Questionnaire of perceived stress after unsuccessful CPR and Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) Inventory. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS software version 27 using descriptive and analytical statistics (Pearson correlation test, multiple linear regression analysis, independent sample T-test, and ANOVA) at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05.
RESULTS
The perceived stress was at a moderate level with a mean score of 65.56 ± 14.21. Among six coping strategies, problem-focused coping had the highest (3.01 ± 0.59) and denial had the lowest mean value (1.94 ± 0.79). Perceived stress had a significant direct relationship with 5 coping strategies, including problem-focused coping, support-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, self-distraction, and religion (p < 0.05). The strongest relationship was found between perceived stress and self-distraction followed by emotion-focused coping. According to the results of multiple regression analysis, emotion-focused coping and self-distraction had predictive roles.
CONCLUSION
The participants used different coping strategies to cope with the stress of unsuccessful CPR. The most common coping mechanisms used by the participants were problem-focused, emotion-focused, and support-focused coping. Pre-hospital emergency officials can assist pre-hospital emergency technicians in coping with occupational stress, including the stress of unsuccessful CPR, through organizing educational courses, teaching effective coping strategies, and offering support programs.
PubMed: 38803903
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31418 -
The World Allergy Organization Journal May 2024The food allergy (FA) entity went through a long difficult road which led to much delay in its recognition. After long periods of denial and misdiagnosis, it attained... (Review)
Review
The food allergy (FA) entity went through a long difficult road which led to much delay in its recognition. After long periods of denial and misdiagnosis, it attained its current designation as food hypersensitivity or allergy. This review will briefly address the evolution of the FA entity from the early BC era until our 21st century and highlight the milestones in the main aspects of diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and research. A great recognition of the allergy specialty was gained by the discovery of its main mediator -immunoglobulin E in 1967 - which also helped in classifying FA into IgE-mediated (immediate-type) and non-IgE-mediated. The cause of the increasing prevalence during the past few decades may be attributed to an increased food consumption and the consequences of modern lifestyle (the hygiene hypothesis). In addition to a skillful medical history-taking, helpful tests have been developed involving the skin or blood. The scratch test was modified to the prick test and in certain instances prick-by-prick. The use of intradermal test has been markedly reduced. Blood testing began by measuring specific-IgE antibodies (sIgE) in the serum using the radioallergosorbent test which went through multiple modifications to avoid radioisotope material and increase the test's sensitivity. The test was advanced to measure sIgE to individual allergen components. Recently, cellular tests were developed in the form of basophil activation or mast cell activation. In most cases, FA needs verification by appropriately-designed challenge testing. Regarding treatment, strict avoidance remains the basic approach. Certain food-labeling regulations led to some improvement in the problem of hidden food allergens but more is desired. Recently some protocols for oral immunotherapy (OIT) showed reasonable safety and efficacy in preventing reactions to accidental exposures. The protocol for peanut has been approved in the United States and other foods are expected to follow. Epicutaneous immunotherapy showed higher safety and promising efficacy. Sublingual immunotherapy might follow as well. Studies on the use of certain biologicals, alone or in combination of OIT, showed promising findings. Very recently, omalizumab was approved in the United States for patients with multiple FA. A major change in the strategy of prevention is the benefit of introducing allergenic foods at an early age (4-6 months). Research on FA markedly flourished in recent decades with increasing numbers of investigators, funding, publications, and education. Despite the major strides, still more awaits exploration with expected better understanding and practice of FA.
PubMed: 38800498
DOI: 10.1016/j.waojou.2024.100912 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) May 2024The Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain are emerging technologies that have attracted attention in many industries, including healthcare, automotive, and supply...
The Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain are emerging technologies that have attracted attention in many industries, including healthcare, automotive, and supply chain. IoT networks and devices are typically low-powered and susceptible to cyber intrusions. However, blockchains hold considerable potential for securing low-power IoT networks. Blockchain networks provide security features such as encryption, decentralisation, time stamps, and ledger functions. The integration of blockchain and IoT technologies may address many of the security concerns. However, integrating blockchain with IoT raises several issues, including the security vulnerabilities and anomalies of blockchain-based IoT networks. In this paper, we report on our experiments using our blockchain test bed to demonstrate that blockchains on IoT platforms are vulnerable to DDoS attacks, which can also potentially lead to device hardware failures. We show that a number of anomalies are visible during either a DDoS attack or IoT device failure. In particular, the temperature of IoT hardware devices can exceed 90 °C during a DDoS attack, which could lead to hardware failure and potential fire hazards. We also found that the Block Transaction Rate (BTR) and network block loss percentage can increase due to corrupted hardware, with the BTR dropping to nearly zero blocks/sec and a block loss percentage of over 50 percent for all evaluated blockchains, and as high as 81.3 percent in one case. Our experiments demonstrate that anomalous temperature, latency, bandwidth, BTR, and network block loss percentage can potentially be used to identify DDoS attacks.
PubMed: 38793937
DOI: 10.3390/s24103083